Partner
Thousands of nursing homes and residential care facilities across the U.S. provide care to the elderly, disabled and vulnerable adults and special needs children. These facilities are entrusted with the care of loved ones when families cannot provide adequate and necessary care in the home.
Despite the good care many of these facilities provide, cases of abuse – both physical and emotional – as well as neglect, sometimes result in serious injury and even death in these settings. When these tragic incidents occur, it is important to hold the nursing homes responsible.
One such case involved the abuse of a severely disabled 22-year-old. Court documents filed in federal court by his family allege that five staff members at an upstate New York residential facility verbally and physically abused him, including beating him with a stick. While under their care, he had numerous unexplained cuts and bruises. The family further alleges neglect, after the staff left him malnourished before he succumbed to pneumonia while under their care last year.
The same facility was implicated a few years prior to this in the death of a 13-year-old autistic boy at the hands of an aide. The State settled that wrongful death suit for $5 million dollars.
Residential care facilities, hospitals, doctors, nurses and other caregivers have an ongoing duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to their residents. They can and should be held liable for negligent care when it results in injury or death. In the absence of such care, a family may be able to recover damages to compensate for funeral expenses, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and medical expenses. Contact our law firm today!
Source: Timesunion.com, “NY sued by family of disabled resident who died”, July 23, 2012